Imaging Protocols

Andrea Clark 

clarkand@med.umich.edu 

Contact Andrea for assistance with scans, reconstructions, image analysis, and protocol development. 

Dr. Karl Jepsen 

kjepsen@med.umich.edu

Contact Dr. Jepsen for assistance with developing new research projects involving nano- or micro-CT imaging.

nanotom M

The GE Phoenix Nanotom M is an ex vivo nanofocus computed tomography system. The maximum specimen size is 250 mm in height and 250 mm in diameter. Two targets and a wide selection of filters are available to enhance the quality of the scan and reconstruction. The protocols listed below were originally designed for the GE nanotom S system and are being updated for the nanotom M; if you have a different nanoCT (or microCT) system you will need to adjust the protocol.

Mouse protocols:

Human protocols:


Analysis

Standard morphological analyses of cortical and trabecular bone are available. These include measurements such as total volume, bone volume, trabecular thickness, trabecular separation, number of trabeculae, structural model index, cortical thickness, cortical inner and outer perimeter, marrow area, and many others. Standards are used to calibrate the CT reconstruction attenuation values to density (Hounsfield Units), thus allowing for bone mineral density measurements as well.

Training is available from the MiMHC center on using Dragonfly to analyze your nano/micro-CT images. Please see the MiMHC->Education webpage for more information and signing up for a training session.


(NOTE: As the program Microview is no longer under development/supported by vendor, it is recommended switching to use Dragonfly for analyzing images for all future projects)